Sample first call topics for discussion (see also Yellow Card Checklist)
Confirm your contact information—both local and winter break addresses/email/phone and cell numbers. Specify when you will leave Ithaca and when you can be reached at a winter break phone number.
Discuss your interests and convey your enthusiasm.
Be prepared to discuss your interest in the field and why you selected this externship. Based on your self-assessment, expand on your introduction essays, which have been sent to the sponsor. Express your appreciation—thank the sponsor in advance for his or her time and for giving you this opportunity and say you are looking forward to meeting him/her. If information interview, suggest topics of particular interest you hope to discuss, especially if related to a sponsor’s previous experiences/industry.
Set a date to visit.
If there was not a specific date in the listing, discuss (or suggest those available) date, duration, and specific time of day (beginning and ending) of externship. Note: Do not try to extend or shorten the number of days sponsor has offered, or try to shift the visit from January to December, or February (unless specified in the listing).
Discuss the structure of the externship.
Review the sponsor’s description and be prepared to suggest what activities would be meaningful to you—shadowing; a short project; a tour of facility; meeting other Cornellians and/or various-level employees (entry level on up); information interviews in other departments; etc.). Suggest that an agenda would help you prepare questions.
Discuss how you can prepare.
- At a minimum, search the Web and Career Services Library Database for information (on corporations or large firms). Mention sources youhave used to research the organization and/or career field and what information you have found? For example, the Johnson School (JGSM) Library research link, and the Vault guides: both found via the CCS home page by clicking Resources (Vault Guides appear under Career Insider). Students need to create a brief profile; service is free.
- Can sponsor suggest other sources? Can s/he send info? (only if not available on campus)?
Be clear about next steps.
When should you call again? Will sponsor send a written agenda, etc.?
Discuss logistics/other concerns during this or subsequent calls:
- Get specific directionsto the extern site; inquire about availability and cost of public transportation or parking.
- Exactly, when and where you should meet the sponsor (or his/her representative). What time will your externship begin/end each day, and whether these will vary (if multi-day externship).
- Ask for description of appropriate attire.
- Lunch arrangements. Should you bring your own lunch or are there convenient places to buy lunch? Sponsors are not expected to provide meals, stipend, or other remuneration. Some may have offered in their externship description but may not remember, so confirm the plan.
- Housing. Do not expect a sponsor to provide or locate accommodation for you. However, you may ask them for advice about youth hostels, convenient hotels within your price range, etc. A very limited number of sponsors have stated in the externship description that they may be able to provide housing; if this is the case, you should bring it up with the sponsor because they might not remember that they offered (and their personal situation may have changed).
Pre-contact preparation – requests to meet colleagues in other areas
In order to do discuss what you would like to learn through the externship, a basic knowledge of the career field is essential and some background on the specific organization or type of projects or areas your sponsor is involved with is highly desirable. See the tips on researching ( - from the Exploring Career Fields dropdown menu, click on Career Insider (Vault Reports)) on the career website for ideas AND use the resources provided by the sponsor in the listing description.
For example, a student placed in an advertising externship should know that four basic functions in an advertising agency are account management, creative, media planning, and research. The student who also knows the company's major accounts demonstrates interest in the sponsor's company and an awareness of the agency's accomplishments; this minimal amount of preparation can go a long way in establishing rapport with the sponsor.
A student who is intrigued by the creative side of advertising knows that this area of advertising is comprised primarily of copywriters, art directors and production staff. The student may not know what these jobs entail on a daily basis, what other staff might contribute to the creative process, how the creative staff interact to actually create an ad, or how computerization has changed the artistic process. The student may also be unfamiliar with the process of translating a strategy statement into a compelling commercial campaign.
During a one-day externship with a sponsor in the creative area, a student would benefit greatly from spending the majority of his/her time with the sponsor but could also request information interviews with other areas of the ad agency. The student's primary goal for the interviews may be to get a sense of how the four areas of an advertising agency interact to create an ad campaign from start to finish. However, in the process the student will also gain a sense of how the creative function is viewed by the other areas. For example, how do account executives, responsible for selling the client the ideas produced by the creative department, influence the creative process?
Be as specific as possible in order to help your sponsor plan appropriate activities.
A statement similar to the following may be useful if you feel uncomfortable asking to meet with others in the organization:
"Currently, my primary interests are in the [sponsor's] area. I also have skills and coursework that relate to the [alternate] area, and I would be interested in speaking with an alum or other colleague in that part of the organization to explore the possibilities in that career field. Would this be possible to arrange?"
Sample first call opening statements
To administrative assistant/assistant:
This is [your name]. [Mr./Ms. sponsor's last name] is expecting a call from me to arrange a [number of days] visit to [name of organization] in January. I am a student at Cornell University and [Mr./Ms. sponsor's last name] is sponsoring my visit as part of the Cornell Extern Program.
To sponsor:
This is [your name]. I am calling to introduce myself as the Cornell student who has been placed with you to do an externship during January and to make arrangements for the externship. [If they seem to hesitate, you might ask, "Have you received the materials from Career Services notifying you of my name?" If not, confirm their email address and contact us ASAP to resend.][If they seem very rushed, you might ask, "Is this a convenient time to talk or shall I call you later?” If so, get a specific date and time. First of all, I would like to thank you very much for offering this opportunity, and to tell you that I am very excited about meeting you and spending some time at [name of organization].
To sponsor’s voice mail:
Plan in advance what you would leave as your first message based on the suggested script above.
Send a confirmation email
The confirmation should summarize the key points of your conversation. Send the letter ASAP after the initial call and no later than March 15. This message will help ensure that you are on the sponsor's mind/calendar. It also gives you the chance to add information about yourself that you may have forgotten in the first call, to send further materials (i.e. articles written or portfolio sample), and/or to further clarify your interests, suggest activities, etc.
• Do not copy the sample word-for-word. The same sponsor may have more than 1 student.
• In your letter, confirm arrangements you made in the conversation (e.g., when [time and date] and where you will meet), including activities and what you'd like to learn from the experience. Give the sponsor the January phone number where you will be staying, and January email address, in the event of last minute problems.
Sample confirmation message (follow-up to initial phone call)
Use this sample as a guideline. Make the note as personal as possible. The sponsor may have multiple externs.
Dear Ms. Smith:
I am writing to confirm my externship with you on January ______, from (date) to (date). I am looking forward to learning more about the creative area in an advertising agency. At this point, I feel that copywriting would incorporate my creative talents and passion for both the written and spoken word. In particular, I am intrigued by the role of the copywriter in the process of conceiving and launching an ad campaign and would enjoy observing that process, if at all possible.
It is my hope during the externship to have the opportunity to see how your department is run, to talk with you and perhaps some of your colleagues, and-if possible-to work on a project or task for you. While I am especially interested in the creative functions of an advertising agency, I would also like to get a glimpse of how your department interacts with the account management, media, and research areas to create a compelling advertising campaign.
I will call you one week before the externship begins to confirm any last-minute details.
My fall semester ends on December_____, after which I can be reached at ______.I'm looking forward to meeting you and spending [length of time] with you. Thank you in advance for providing me with this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Susan Jones
PRE-visit confirmation: call ONE week before visit to confirm sponsor availability.
One week before the externship begins, but not on a holiday, call your sponsor or his/her assistant to confirm dates, times and directions. Give sponsor any change in information about where you can be reached. If sponsor is not available, when you call be sure to check directly with sponsor's assistant to see that you are on the calendar.
Sample thank-you letter (immediately following externship)
Using this sample as a guideline, make your letter personal to your own experience.
Your Address
City, State Zip
Date
Dr. Mary Jones
Title
Business Address
City, State Zip
Dear Dr. Jones:
Thank you so much for your time, guidance, and constant support over the past week. My experience as an extern with you and your colleagues both at the VA hospital and UT Southwestern have proven to be invaluable to my future plans and aspirations. As a result of this externship, I am now eager to pursue a career in medicine. The tour of the medical school as well as my brief talks with Jane Smith, Dr. Julie Wait and you – gifted and driven women juggling with careers and families – have served to shape my motivations and outlook on the future.
Despite the snowstorm that awaits my arrival back at Cornell, I am anxious to return to school in hopes of completing a successful academic semester. Best of luck in the completion of your work on citrate synthase and in all of your other future endeavors. I will definitely keep in touch and hope to work with you again in the future.
Once again thank you for so openly sharing your knowledge and experiences with Stephanie and me. In the event that you visit Cornell while I am still here, I hope you will give me a call. I really appreciate all that you have done.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Sample contact letter (1-2 years following externship)
Sample #1
Your Address
City, State Zip
Date
Dr. Mary Jones
Title
Business Address
City, State Zip
Dear Dr. Jones:
Two years ago I was fortunate enough to participate in your externship through Cornell University’s Career Center. At that time, I was uncertain about my post-graduate studies and career ambitions. The experience was very insightful and contributed to my decision to pursue a degree in law.
Since then, I finished my Bachelors of Science in engineering this past May, and will begin at Emory’s Law School in August. I just wanted to say thank you for the time I spent with you and for the insight you gave me about your career in law.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Sample #2
Dear Dr. Jones:
I just wanted to update you on my progress in the medical school application cycle. I have to say that participating in the externship with you has really made an impact on my approach to medicine, and I have come to incorporate much of the advice you have given me.
I finished Cornell with a 3.6 GPA (with last two years as almost straight A’s) and scored a 35Q on the MCAT, graduating with honors in research. I ended up doing another externship with Dr. Cornell, an HSS orthopedic surgeon (he told me he knows you from residency) and ended up becoming increasingly interested in surgery. I decided to take a gap year to pursue this interest and now work for the Chief at University of Rochester Medical Center.
Currently, I am interviewing as part of my application, and have six interviews so far. I think that Cornell would be my top choice (if selected post-interview) and probably Rochester and Georgetown second (still waiting for invite).
Thinking back to my undergraduate career, I feel that the externship was the best program in which I participated from a pre-medical perspective. I hope you continue offering other students this unique opportunity. I extend my thanks and hope to get a chance to work with you again in the future.
Sincerely,
Your Name